There were about twenty parents lined-up already at the waiting area when I entered the gate of the school. There was no sign of a single section being dismissed much to my relief. I wanted to be there before the kids are out. I wanted to see them as they hurriedly force themselves out of the room and wonder what these kids do when no one in the family is watching them. I positioned myself in the area where I can see all five rooms at the ground floor of the elementary building. I did that on purpose, I simply didn't know which room is Motet's and Xavier's. I didn't know how to distinguish the Kinder 2 room from the Grade 3.
There was not bell to signal the end of the afternoon class. I didn’t hear a sound as I saw Xavier came out almost last from his room while the rest of his classmates run towards the open field. I didn’t bother to ask him why for I had forgotten the question as I saw him running towards me with a wide smile. He didn’t expect to see me there waiting for him! After exchanging few words, he left his backpack at my side and proceeded to join his classmates play ball as I continue to wait for his sisters to be out.
In a few moments I saw other parents rushing towards the far right room, just like a scene from the arrival area of an international airport, parents’ enthusiasm to see their kids again is like seeing the face of a friend again after a decade of absence. I said to myself that must be the classroom for the Kindergarten. I was right when I saw Motet emerging from the crowd with her pink bag and a half empty C2 Ice Tea in one hand. She stopped at the door of his brothers’ classroom to check if he is still there. Seeing no trace of his brother, she then proceeded to the parents waiting area where she caught me watching her every move as she run smiling towards my direction. Just like his brother, she didn’t expect to see me there waiting, and to add more drama to the occasion, today is the FIRST DAY that I saw Moter in her school uniform and the FIRST TIME that I was there to fetch her home.
She animatedly showed me the “STARS” in both of her hands which are now beginning to fade. She said her teacher gave them to her for having gotten the right answers in their exercises. She didn’t want me to carry her in my arms as I bend over the way I used to do when I came home late every night. Her smile made me understand that she doesn't want her other classmates, who are at her side, see me doing the little baby habits for her. Her smile is short to saying, “Tatay, not now po, I’m a big girl in school but I will always be your little baby at home.” I understand.
The baby is now a little lady, but the baby in her persists as she, together with her friends run back and forth the ground. In between breaks she would run to me and tell me stories on how she went to the second floor to see her Ate sometime back and had to hide from the School Guard to avoid getting caught. There’s a school policy that all Kindergarten pupils are not allowed to be at the second floor for security reasons. Smart and determined as she is, Motet managed to reach the forbidden ground to check on her Ate, now on her 4th Grade.
Motet was so beautiful in her school uniform. She wanted to wear that uniform ever since she started schooling at the San Juanico Pre-School. She wanted to be with and like her Ate Angel, but she didn’t complain. She learned to love and be proud of San Juanico as her school. But then I have to give in, she would love it more and be more proud of St. Paul. Her sister and brother are there and she knew for a fact that her father is a graduate of the same school.
Last to come down was Angel. Looking at her from a distance, I suddenly realized that my eldest baby is now becoming a full grown lady. She was not the same daughter I used to sporadically accompany to school. Her skirts are now long and her blouse is now cut the way ladies cut their dresses. Except for the hair which was "home-serviced" by her mother, Angel was likewise beautiful. Again, today was the FIRST TIME in the year that I saw these kids in their school uniforms.
Today, I planned to give the kids a little surprise, but it was I who got the BIGGEST SURPRISE of my life just by watching them from a distance. These beautiful kids who have always been my ultimate source of JOY, PRIDE and INSPIRATION have almost been dragged into a condition they never really deserve. They almost lost their father (and eventually our family) to a LIE and UNFORGIVING PAST. We have been through the most trying times together and managed to get through all by simply trusting each other and knowing that when we wake up tomorrow it’s going to be a lovely day.
Tonight I picked the last few fragments of my complicated self. Tomorrow I am ready for a much bigger surprise.
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